Satellite
by thesedentarytraveller
Summary: Saving the world is tough when you're doing it for the girl who didn't choose you. The continuing story of Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley (Breaking Dawn and onwards).


Satellite

He let go of her hand, their dance finished, his fingers still tingling in remembrance of her soft skin. Bella looked beautiful, her dark hair framing her pale face and serene expression, her movements graceful as the snow-white dress slipped out of his reach. Mike watched Edward and Bella throughout the wedding reception, his heart aching. By the end of the night he resolved to protect her happiness at all costs, even if she never spoke to him again. Saving the world seemed a little less daunting when he was doing it for someone he loved, even if she'd never know.

Mike found himself yet again looking in the mirror, examining his jawline and the scraggly fuzz thickening under his chin. He caught his own pale-eyed stare and quickly turned his attention to the skin behind his ears. He probed the flesh there, nails scraping away the foundation his mom had applied earlier. Grabbing a worn washcloth from his dresser he scrubbed the opposite side of his neck, again meeting his gaze in the mirror. The same Mike Newton stared back at him; his hair looked like it had had a bad run-in with a gel bottle, and a soft double chin emphasized the roundness of his face. He immediately squared his shoulders and tilted his head back. He stared at his reflection, considering himself in the suit he'd worn earlier that night to Bella's wedding.

Eventually he abandoned the mirror and tossed his suit jacket on the bed. It was three in the morning and he still couldn't sleep.

The shrill ring of his phone filled the air. He flipped the old Samsung open, knowing exactly who it was.

"Hello?" he said anyway.

"Hey, Mike," Jessica said.

He lay back on the bed and sighed. "Hey, Jessica."

"I didn't wake you up, did I? I mean, I don't know about you but I am wide awake," she said. He listened as she went over the night, critiquing the wedding as though it were a movie. "But then, Bella's always been, like, awkward," Jessica said. "And Edward is just anti-social but super dreamy. I mean… you know what I mean, right?"

Mike closed his eyes at the subtext. He knew Jessica liked him. They had dated a bit over the past few years, but Mike wondered why he even bothered. _Because Bella was never interested_ , a voice whispered in his head.

He laughed. "Sure," he said, hoping it was ambiguous enough that she would just carry on the conversation.

"So what do you think about all that?" she asked, her tone teasing.

"Of what?" he asked, feeling his stomach drop.

"The wedding?" Her laughter did little to ease his mood.

He sat up and looked across the room at his computer desk, at the mess that was leftover from exams and end of semester projects. He started unbuttoning his shirt. "Yeah, it was good."

"That's it?" she laughed at him again. "C'mon, Mike, our friend just got married. Weird, right?"

 _What did she want him to say_? He always felt so anxious speaking to Jessica. Over the past few years of high school Jessica had watched him be rejected by Bella time and time again. She knew he still liked Bella. Everything Jessica said sounded like it wanted to expose that fact despite how hard he tried to crush those feelings. He knew that if she ever caught him off guard she would hate him probably forever, even though she was setting herself up for it. Mike struggled out of his dress shirt and set to work on his shoes. It was exhausting always being on guard.

"Yeah, it was a little weird. But I had a good time tonight," he said, knowing his flattery would distract her from uncovering the truth. That he hated Edward. That he resented Bella for ignoring him- for marrying that pasty idiot.

Her giggling at his lie eased his mind somewhat. "Me too. But, wow, I still can't believe they got married so soon! I mean, we just graduated. Do you ever think about getting married?" she asked.

He kicked off his shoes, momentarily stunned by the question. "No, not really," he muttered, trying to hide the guilt in his voice. He knew Jessica was thinking about the garter toss, the superstition that he would be the next to get married. But every time he had fantasized about marriage it had been with Bella, of her usual dour expression replaced with that fragile smile he liked so much, of putting his arms around her and caressing that smooth skin, and touching her ebony tresses that smelled like flowers… he swallowed hard… he knew he was just kidding himself. He scrubbed the back of his neck, the texture just behind his ears making him pause. "Jess, I'm pretty tired. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

Minutes later he was back in front of his mirror, frowning at the hard skin developing behind his ears. He attacked the patches again with the washcloth, revealing them for what they were. They felt almost like calluses, his skin thickening in preparation for the next stage of his genetic inheritance. The makeup wouldn't be able to hide it much longer. Not to mention he was getting tired of wearing long sleeves to cover the rest of his gradual transformation.

Soft conversation climbed the stairs and he moved to shut his door. He lingered for a second with his hand on the doorknob, an ear pressed against the giraffe growth chart to listen to the voices of his parents as they headed to their bedroom.

"It's going to be a huge shock," his mother was saying.

"It will be good for him," his father exclaimed. "Besides, Boston already arranged the whole thing." There was some muffled banter as they moved away, their footsteps receding until all that Mike could hear was the steady pulse of blood in his ears.

It felt strange to not trust his parents. He would often eavesdrop to learn more about their plans, their lives. They were always talking about rejoining the colony, making plans without him because they knew it upset him to talk about it. He knew he'd be going with them next time. Who knew how much longer he had in Forks? He certainly wouldn't be able to stay once he reached the peak of his development.

The silly cartoon giraffe on his door was smiling at him. The first time Jessica saw it she insisted he measure her too. Despite his embarrassment of the childish artifact, he'd obliged her. A red line stood apart from all of the black marks documenting his height. She'd held very still when he'd drawn it. He remembered how she'd looked at him, how the short, electric distance between them had been closed so quickly with a kiss. He wasn't particularly interested in Jessica, but at the time it had felt so right to have his tongue in her mouth and her hands in his hair. All the hurt and unrequited love he'd experienced with Bella created a desire for Jessica he'd never known before. Even now a quick glance at Jessica could make those feelings of lust resurface. And it felt so good to be wanted. Their encounter ended when she discovered the bumps behind his ears. "Maybe you're allergic to my lip gloss!" she'd reasoned.

It was so much more than an allergic reaction to lip gloss. What his parents had explained to him after would make things like vampires or werewolves believable.

Resurfacing from his memories he examined his mostly hairless chest. With cold fascination he felt the small green scales sprouting from his skin, knowing his back was getting worse. His skin itched and burned as they grew and thickened each day, like he was being covered in scabs. Sudden anger burned through him and he turned away from his reflection, trying to clear a space on his desk as a distraction. A distraction from his life. From the fact that none of it mattered. That he would never be with Bella Swan. _Cullen_. That he had to pretend with Jessica. That he had to pretend to live a normal life when in truth it was all a lie.

Tears of frustration clouded his eyes and he attacked an A- essay on his desk. As the torn sheets dove through the air to the floor his mind spat the truth in his mind. _She could never be with you. Then she would know what you really are. Just a liar. Just a fake human being._

Another look in the mirror confirmed it. "Shit," he gritted out, wiping a stray tear from his cheek.

There's no delicate way to tell someone that they are from another planet. When his dad had initially told him Mike wondered if his parents had gone insane. He had wondered if it was just a game. "I'm not that gullible, Dad," he remembered saying. Then they had shown him irrefutable proof.

It's a bit hard to be shown a spaceship and not believe everything. Then again, he had felt as though reality were collapsing around him at the time. The physical changes he was experiencing simply added to the evidence. His mom called it 'alien puberty' as a joke, but they had explained to him that his skin would thicken, his reflexes would sharpen, and he'd go through another growth spurt soon. The number of scales would increase as well until it would be pointless to hide it anymore.

"Scales? Are you serious?" Mike had exclaimed at the time, bewildered by the concept.

"You'll shed them when you get to be our age," his dad had said.

"That's another thing," his mom had interjected. "Sweetie, after you graduate we won't be able to stay in Forks for much longer. I'm sorry, honey."

It had taken so long to sink in. When Bella was dumped by Jerkward, Mike had tried to ignore how his life was spinning out of control by asking her out. It had been torturous trying to build any kind of relationship with Bella, what with that freak Jacob and all the sweating and the nausea his alien-puberty bestowed on him. Perhaps she had been able to sense his difference. Perhaps it was just that he was coming on to her too strong. Too desperately.

Then there was Jessica. He'd known her forever, was very familiar with the gossipy way she talked, the bad haircuts of her past and how she desired popularity, but she had never really captured his attention like Bella had.

But he could never have Bella.

He glanced at his calendar, the last day of the month circled in red pen. It was then that the colonies would come together, or so his parents had told him. When they convened they would decide whether or not Earth was as important as his parents' in depth study claimed it to be. Mike would be Exhibit A, the end product of their time on Earth. It was on him whether Earth fried or not.

Mike took a deep breath. He thought of Jessica and their friends and how they had no idea any of this was happening.

And then there was Bella. Beautiful Bella.

Bella who acted like he never existed.

Mike lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. All of his fantasies involving Bella choosing him over Edward, even now, would always remain that way. Just fantasies. In a matter of days or weeks he would be joining the 'colony' and would never be able to see her again.

At least he wouldn't have to deal with Jessica anymore.


End file.
